Wilder (The Wild Ones 3)

“This is the first winter I’ve faced in a long damn time without it, and my face misses my long beard,” Benson tells her as he tries to sit at a different table.

Lilah pulls two chairs up to our table and we all fucking shuffle around as Benson sighs and comes to join us against his will.

Mathew looks like he’s going to have a brain aneurism. It’s not like he owns the place, and we always fix what we break, so I have no idea what his problem is.

“You can’t sit there,” Mathew shouts…at the fancy table. Not us.

“Ah, come on. We’re trying to get to know each other better,” I hear Hale groan.

“If Hale gets to sit at the fancy table, I’m going to start coming here daily until I get to sit there,” Lilah is quick to say, and then shakes her head and looks back to Benson, as he grudgingly takes a seat at our table at last.

I just want my damn burger and away from this—

“I’m growing my beard back,” Benson says seriously. “It kept my face and neck a hell of a lot warmer.”

“You have enough beard!” Lilah argues.

“Not even married a year and having marital problems,” Hunter says with a tsking tone.

“Where’s my damn bur—”

Mathew drops my plate in front of me, and a fry spills off when it clangs. Killian snatches his plate from Mathew’s hand before he can drop it.

“So help me, Hale Vincent, if you move one step closer to that table, I will have Vick remove you!” Mathew shouts as he stalks that way.

I barely notice Vick sighing heavily in the corner as he shakes out his paper and continues reading like he’s trying to ignore everyone in here.

He’s a man full of sighs and exasperated breaths.

“Can’t you see I’m working game over here?” Hale argues.

“Game,” I snort before I start eating.

I’m almost finished by the time Hale sits down beside us, and I grin to myself as I take the last bite of my burger.

“How’d your game work out?” Hunter asks on a scoff.

I glance back just in time to see the redhead exiting with a to-go bag in tow.

“Actually, it was damn good. She couldn’t reach her sister to find out about tonight. But I got a date for tomorrow for me and my brother,” Hale says while lifting his glass and flipping us all off.

It grows eerily silent in the diner. Even Vick puts down the paper and stares over incredulously. I arch an eyebrow, examining Hale for deceit. He looks damn serious and damn honest.

“Bullshit,” Vick and Mathew both say in horrified unison.

“Yep,” Hale says as he lifts his own burger and takes a bite. “She found me charming,” he says around the mouthful.

“Now I know he’s full of shit,” Vick says dismissively before returning his attention to the paper.

I’m not sure what the hell goes into the Tomahawk Gazette. It’s…Tomahawk. Not much happens around here that can be reported. Certainly not enough to write a newspaper about.

The ground rattles and everyone lifts the breakable stuff, since there’s a sign in the window reminding us to do it.

As soon as rattling stops, Vick heaves out a breath and glances at our table. “Where’s Nila?” he asks me.

“With a popsicle,” I answer, causing his brow to furrow.

“Human popsicle,” Hunter elaborates.

“Why do I bother?” Vick groans as he drains the last of his coffee and stands.

“She’s not blowing up anything close by. If she was close, she’d be bitching at us for leaving her behind with the popsicle,” I assure him.

“True,” Killian says around his own mouthful.

“Has to be the Nickels. I told them to stop doing that shit so close to town,” Vick growls with his hands on his hips.

“Could be the Malones,” Mathew gripes. “Kylie keeps trying to make her fella wilder than he’s already gotten.”

“So how’d you get a fucking date with a fancy girl?” I ask Hale, getting back on topic as everything rattles again, this time harder.

“Son of a bitch,” Vick snaps as he stalks out.

“This is why we all hate winter!” Mathew gripes, just as a much heavier rattle shakes some of the pictures off the wall. “Take them with you before they tear something up!”

“We’re being perfectly well behaved,” Lilah very reasonably points out.

Then she turns her attention to Benson, while Hale grins like a dick and ignores me.

Fucker.

“And you’re not growing that long beard back, or I’m going to stop primping my vagina like a shiny glass doll,” Lilah adds stoically to Benson.

Hale and Killian both choke on their food, gag, and then guzzle their drinks…in eerily perfect unison.

This, of course, makes me so happy. Especially when Killian shoves his food away and starts cursing.

“You’re bluffing,” Benson says to her as he narrows his eyes.

“For fuck’s sake, don’t talk about this at the dinner table!” Hale snaps.